UCAT Results Discussion 2019

[DrDrLMG!]

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School Leaver
Predicted (Applying with US qualification so I already have my results) ATAR/GPA: I think differ by schools, but lowest I've seen is 99.00
UCAT Percentile Rank: 96
VR: 730
DM: 770
QR: 820
AR: 680
Total: 3000
SJ: 625
Current State: Overseas domestic (USA)
Applying to: UNSW (first choice), UQ, Adelaide, UWA, JMP
Rural Applicant: No
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other: I'm applying for one EAS (family disruption)
Specific Question:
1. What are my chances for UQ? If my chances are good, I would apply to less schools cause plane expenses are very expensive.
2. Will I receive a interview for UNSW? How well do I have to perform in the interview to get a spot?

Thank!

Chances are good for UQ assuming your ATAR is definitely over 99.00 there. You should get interviews with the other three you've listed. You could also apply to WSU given you'll be doing a UAC application anyway. You should get an interview there, too. Once you have your interviews, you can weigh up what works best for flights.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Applying for: Medicine & Dentistry
Application Type: non-standard
Predicted GPA: 5.0-5.5
UCAT Percentile Rank:92%
VR: 650
DM: 680
QR: 670
AR: 870
Total: 2870
SJ: 600
Current State: NSW
Applying to: all universities for non -standard
Rural Applicant: no
GWS Applicant: no
Indigenous Applicant: no
Question: I'm a 2nd yr Uni student . As my predicted GPA is too low & I'm not a school leaver, my choices are quite limited . Can I please get some advices to see which unis for both Med and Dent I can apply?

Thanks in advance...

I think your best (only?) option is JMP for Med, and nothing for Dent, I don't think. You could try JCU Dent, but your GPA will make it hard to be competitive. Bond Med is another option if that is financially feasible. It may be useful for you to also consider graduate entry. Commit to nailing your GPA over the rest of your degree and give GAMSAT a go. Good luck.

 

[Lawrencealot]

Mod Note: Answered

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: Non-standard
Predicted ATAR/GPA: GPA 7.0, 0.75FTE in BHMS at Adelaide
UCAT Percentile Rank: 93
VR: 640
DM: 690
QR: 870
AR: 690
Total: 2890
SJ: 722
Current State: SA
Applying to: Adelaide, considering WSU
Rural Applicant: no
GWS Applicant: no
Indigenous Applicant: no
Other: no
Specific Question: what are my chances at Adelaide and WSU?
I work full time and I'm 2IC managing a small business so I haven't studied since mid-2018 as I'm trying to train up a replacement for myself. Does it matter that I've taken that time out? Does 0.75FTE compare poorly to ⩾1.0?
Are there any other places I can apply to? I suspect I'll be ineligible due to prerequisite requirements for maths and chem.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: Non-standard
Predicted ATAR/GPA: GPA 7.0, 0.75FTE in BHMS at Adelaide
UCAT Percentile Rank: 93
VR: 640
DM: 690
QR: 870
AR: 690
Total: 2890
SJ: 722
Current State: SA
Applying to: Adelaide, considering WSU
Rural Applicant: no
GWS Applicant: no
Indigenous Applicant: no
Other: no
Specific Question: what are my chances at Adelaide and WSU?
I work full time and I'm 2IC managing a small business so I haven't studied since mid-2018 as I'm trying to train up a replacement for myself. Does it matter that I've taken that time out? Does 0.75FTE compare poorly to ⩾1.0?
Are there any other places I can apply to? I suspect I'll be ineligible due to prerequisite requirements for maths and chem.

JMP don't have any pre-reqs, but they will use your ATAR as you've got less than 1FTE of study. If your ATAR was above 94.30, then you're very likely to get an interview there as well as WSU.

 

[Catelyn R.]

Mod Note: Answered

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School leaver (Current Year 12)
Predicted ATAR/GPA: 99.25 - 99.5
UCAT Percentile Rank: 95
Total: 2950
SJ: 640
Current State: NSW
Applying to: UNSW, WSU, JMP, Adelaide, UQ, UTAS are my firsts, but anywhere else is fine
Rural Applicant: Yes, RA2
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other: EAS
Specific Question:
What’s my chance of making it into UNSW (I’m applying to EAS but there’s always the chance that I won’t be accepted), WSU and JMP? Also, I’m probably eligible for Adjustments for UQ and UTAS so what’s my chance of making it over there? Am I cool for anywhere else? How high would I need to score in the interviews? Also, are the interview offers based on atar or selection rank?

 

[A1]

Just wondering, If i was to get a 99.1/99.2 atar and the 96% UCAT, what would my chance at a UNSW offer be.
Also, when you say 10%,20% chance, does this mean that i have to be in the top 10/20 out of the 100ish people that get selected out of the pool of 400 students. OR, does this mean i have to be in the top 40/80 of 400 interviewees.

I'd say 20-25% chance = your interview score in the top 80-100 of 400 interviewees.

To visualise how the approximation works, say UNSW interviews 400 for 140 places
- Your 96%ile is around median of the successful applicants last year, median of the top third = rank ~70th out of 400.
- Let's say your ATAR ranks 250th out of 400.
- The final rank is the average of the three components' ranks, with 100th for your interview your final rank is (70+250+100)/3 = 140th.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School leaver (Current Year 12)
Predicted ATAR/GPA: 99.25 - 99.5
UCAT Percentile Rank: 95
Total: 2950
SJ: 640
Current State: NSW
Applying to: UNSW, WSU, JMP, Adelaide, UQ, UTAS are my firsts, but anywhere else is fine
Rural Applicant: Yes, RA2
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other: EAS
Specific Question:
What’s my chance of making it into UNSW (I’m applying to EAS but there’s always the chance that I won’t be accepted), WSU and JMP? Also, I’m probably eligible for Adjustments for UQ and UTAS so what’s my chance of making it over there? Am I cool for anywhere else? How high would I need to score in the interviews? Also, are the interview offers based on atar or selection rank?

A combo of your rural status (have you checked if you're rural for UNSW, they don't use RA) and EAS means you're likely to get interviews at all of the places you've listed and an offer from UQ. WSU interview ~x3 more than than have places, JMP ~x4 more, and UAdel ~6-7x more (I think). UTAS is an unknown as they've changed their rural application process this year. You could also apply to Curtin (though again they don't use RA for rurality), UWA, JCU, and Monash.

Interview offer factors vary from uni to uni, for some it's ATAR and UCAT, for some it's written application, for some it's UCAT alone.

 

[Catelyn R.]

Thanks! What do you mean by "x3 more than than have places, JMP - x4 more"?

A combo of your rural status (have you checked if you're rural for UNSW, they don't use RA) and EAS means you're likely to get interviews at all of the places you've listed and an offer from UQ. WSU interview ~x3 more than than have places, JMP ~x4 more, and UAdel ~6-7x more (I think). UTAS is an unknown as they've changed their rural application process this year. You could also apply to Curtin (though again they don't use RA for rurality), UWA, JCU, and Monash.

Interview offer factors vary from uni to uni, for some it's ATAR and UCAT, for some it's written application, for some it's UCAT alone.

 

[A1]

Can I also ask about my chances for a UNSW interview? Probably unlikely right? Cheers

Unfortunately your GPA 6.10 doesn't give much hope for UNSW. It only converts to 96.5, which even with a 99.5 ATAR combines to 98.0 equiv Rank. Not enough to go with 97%ile.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thanks! What do you mean by "x3 more than than have places, JMP - x4 more"?

They have X number of places on offer and they interview 3x or 4x that many applicants.

 

[Catelyn R.]

Mod Note: Answered

Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School leaver (Current Year 12)
Predicted ATAR/GPA: 99.25 - 99.5
UCAT Percentile Rank: 95
Total: 2950
SJ: 640
Current State: NSW
Applying to: UNSW, WSU, JMP, Adelaide, UQ, UTAS are my firsts, but anywhere else is fine
Rural Applicant: Yes, RA2
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other: EAS
Specific Question:
What’s my chance of making it into UNSW (I’m applying to EAS but there’s always the chance that I won’t be accepted), WSU and JMP? Also, I’m probably eligible for Adjustments for UQ and UTAS so what’s my chance of making it over there? Am I cool for anywhere else? How high would I need to score in the interviews? Also, are the interview offers based on atar or selection rank?

Also, in what percentile should my interview fall to be safe given my ATAR isn't astounding? I do have EAS but it's not guaranteed/no idea how many points i am gonna be given

 

[ucatboy]

I'd say 20-25% chance = your interview score in the top 80-100 of 400 interviewees.

To visualise how the approximation works, say UNSW interviews 400 for 140 places
- Your 96%ile is around median of the successful applicants last year, median of the top third = rank ~70th out of 400.
- Let's say your ATAR ranks 250th out of 400.
- The final rank is the average of the three components' ranks, with 100th for your interview your final rank is (70+250+100)/3 = 140th.

That's interesting - is that how universities calculate one's final ranking for place offer distribution? Does that mean higher UCAT scores (i.e. 3500 vs 3130) could make a huge difference to your overall ranking? Even though Pearson treats the aforementioned scores as essentially the same i.e. 99th percentile, could it be that out of the 400 UNSW interviewees, 3130 is more like, say, 70th/400 and 3500 is 2nd/400 (obviously hypothetical/an exaggeration)? This gives the second guy a distinct advantage as they can average ~34 places lower in the interview AND ATAR before dropping to the level of the first guy - am I doing this right?

Feel free to move my post to the relevant section of the forum

 

[A1]

Thanks! What do you mean by "x3 more than than have places, JMP - x4 more"?

JMP interviews ~700 for 170 places, roughly 4 to 1. Since place offers are wholly on the interview you need to rank better than 170th = in the top quarter. An average among the interview cohort won't place you in the top 170.

 

[A1]

That's interesting - is that how universities calculate one's final ranking for place offer distribution? Does that mean higher UCAT scores (i.e. 3500 vs 3130) could make a huge difference to your overall ranking. Even though Pearson treats the aforementioned scores as essentially the same i.e. 99th percentile, could it be that out of the 400 UNSW interviewees, 3130 is more like, say, 70th/400 and 3500 is 2nd/400 (obviously hypothetical/an exaggeration)? This gives the second guy a distinct advantage as they can average ~34 places lower in the interview AND ATAR before dropping to the level of the first guy - am I doing this right?

Feel free to move my post to the relevant section of the forum

It depends whether the school uses Z-score or Rank to standardise the three components. Z-score gives a top 99%ile (like FunTimes) a huge advantage over a top 98%ile. Rank gives 99th just one or a number of ranks better than 98th.

 

[Catelyn R.]

JMP interviews ~700 for 170 places, roughly 4 to 1. Since place offers are wholly on the interview you need to rank better than 170th = in the top quarter. An average among the interview cohort won't place you in the top 170.

If you're applying rural, is the ratio still the same given that you're competing with a different cohort? Or are you still competing with the same cohort? Also is 99.25 a bit low for UNSW if my EAS application is rejected? Do you know how many points they attend to award for severe health issues?

 

[A1]

If you're applying rural, is the ratio still the same given that you're competing with a different cohort? Or are you still competing with the same cohort?

Most schools put rural applicants into a separate pool, and by the numbers we've seen they keep to a similar interview/place ratio. So for JMP since place offers are based on the interview alone, rural applicants have no further advantage (i.e. the same 1 in 4 chance). Otoh UNSW counts ATAR into place offers and rural applicants generally have lower ATARs, your ATAR gives a bigger headstart in the rural pool than in the general pool.

Also is 99.25 a bit low for UNSW if my EAS application is rejected? Do you know how many points they attend to award for severe health issues?

Maybe Smelly Boy can help answer how many bonus points for health issues.

If you qualify for UNSW rural I'd say your offer chance is around 70%. If non-rural 99.25+95%ile will still get an interview but offer chance is more like 25-30%.

 

[Winston Phillip]

Mod Note: Answered.

Hey Mods!
Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School Leaver
Predicted: Low 99 ATAR
UCAT Percentile Rank: 92
VR: 660
DM: 670
QR: 660
AR: 880
Total: 2870
SJ: 680
Current State: QLD (Gold Coast)
Applying to: Anywhere I can get including bonded places for now
Rural Applicant: No
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other:
Specific questions:
Will universities use the actual raw score (in my case 2870) or our percentile rank? Thank you!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey Mods!
Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School Leaver
Predicted: Low 99 ATAR
UCAT Percentile Rank: 92
VR: 660
DM: 670
QR: 660
AR: 880
Total: 2870
SJ: 680
Current State: QLD (Gold Coast)
Applying to: Anywhere I can get including bonded places for now
Rural Applicant: No
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other:
Specific questions:
Will universities use the actual raw score (in my case 2870) or our percentile rank? Thank you!

If it's the same as UMAT, they'll use your raw score, but it's easier for us to make comparisons based on percentile ranks, that's why we ask for that. Good luck!

 

[A1]

Hey Mods!
Applying for: Medicine
Application Type: School Leaver
Predicted: Low 99 ATAR
UCAT Percentile Rank: 92
VR: 660
DM: 670
QR: 660
AR: 880
Total: 2870
SJ: 680
Current State: QLD (Gold Coast)
Applying to: Anywhere I can get including bonded places for now
Rural Applicant: No
GWS Applicant: No
Indigenous Applicant: No
Other:
Specific questions:
Will universities use the actual raw score (in my case 2870) or our percentile rank? Thank you!

The schools will use your actual score. Percentile is only for you to know roughly where you stand and for MSO to guesstimate.

With a bit of luck low 99s + 92%ile may get you UQ bonded. Otherwise you should get interviews with Adelaide, JMP, UWA, Curtin. Borderline for UNSW, WSU. Monash practically no hope.

 

[Mrpopquiz]

Chances are good for UQ assuming your ATAR is definitely over 99.00 there. You should get interviews with the other three you've listed. You could also apply to WSU given you'll be doing a UAC application anyway. You should get an interview there, too. Once you have your interviews, you can weigh up what works best for flights.

Thanks! Are my chances for UQ good for an unbounded place as well? Or am I in the border between bonded and unbonded?